LONDON: A UK court on Wednesday jailed seven “grooming gang” members for between 12 to 35 years for using two teenage girls as “sex slaves”, the latest sentences in a decades-long scandal.

The men, all of South Asian descent, groomed at least two vulnerable white teenage girls in Rochdale, near Manchester in northwest England, and then repeatedly raped them over a five-year period starting in 2001.

A jury hearing their four-month trial in Manchester found all seven guilty in June of rape and dozens of other offences, after both victims gave evidence in court. Jurors heard they were forced to have sex “with multiple men on the same day, in filthy flats and on rancid mattresses”.

The longest sentence of 35 years went to market stallholder Mohammed Zahid, 65. The father-of-three gave free underwear from his lingerie stall to both teenagers, alongside money, alcohol and food, expecting in return regular sex with him and his friends.

The Manchester resident had been found guilty of 20 offences including rape, indecency with a child, and attempting to procure unlawful sexual intercourse from a girl.

Fellow Rochdale market traders Mushtaq Ahmed, 67, and Kasir Bashir, 50, both of Oldham, received jail terms of 27 years and 29 years, respectively. Both had been convicted of offences including rape and indecency with a child.

Bashir, who absconded before the trial began, was sentenced in absentia.

Published in Dawn, October 2nd, 2025